Maurice plans to experiment with line combinations in camp

WINNIPEG - Head coach Paul Maurice has some decisions to make.
That's not out of the ordinary, as he'll make line-up decisions every day this season.
But for the time being, he has some time to experiment.
With veterans Paul Stastny and Toby Enstrom among the list of players no longer on the Jets roster, Maurice spent time this summer figuring out how he wants to fill those holes.
Training camp and preseason is the perfect time to put all that brainstorming to work.

With Stastny now with the Vegas Golden Knights, Maurice wants to see Bryan Little between Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine.
It was a trio that showed flashes last season, and Ehlers and Laine continuing to develop their game will help anyone that plays between them.
"The real improvement on the line is that Nik, we won't call him a kid anymore. He's a young man, he's been in the league a few years," said Maurice. "Patrik, you can all see, he looks different. He's in better shape, he's leaner, he's stronger, so we're going to see a different player there."

Laine and Ehlers combined for 73 goals in 2017-18, and Little had 16 of his own. But to him, the 82 games he played, after two seasons cut short by injuries, is more important to him.
He feels the more he works with Laine and Ehlers, the better they'll be as a group.
"We're all different players in our own right. It takes time to build chemistry. It's pretty rare you find it instantly with a full line," said Little. "We had times last year in games where I thought we played really well and had a lot of chemistry, and then there were times that we struggled a bit. I think it's just getting that consistency, getting used to each other, practicing with each other. The more we're around each other is going to be a big difference."

Laine enjoyed playing with Little last season, and believes Little's game is similar to Stastny's.
"He's easy to play with, and he can pass the puck really well," said Laine. "He's a veteran guy and he knows what to do with two young guys. We'll be a good trio when the season starts."
The other option for Maurice is Jack Roslovic in that spot, but the head coach wants to give Roslovic some more time to develop, despite the 2015 first-round pick's quality play against Vegas in the Western Conference Final.
"Some patience with this young man before we hand him the keys to drive between those other two. There's a lot of leg work that goes into playing centre ice between (Laine) and (Ehlers)," said Maurice. "I think we all see Jack Roslovic down the road as a full-time centre, we think it's there.
"We've got good options in the middle of the ice."

With Enstrom's departure, the left side on the pairing with Jets alternate captain Dustin Byfuglien is open.
Byfuglien has played with a number of partners over the last two seasons, including Josh Morrissey, Ben Chiarot, Joe Morrow, Dmitry Kulikov, and Tyler Myers.
While Myers is right-handed, Maurice won't hesitate to try putting him on the left side with Byfuglien on the right.
"When you're in the middle of the season, you're kind of looking to get that chemistry, who's going together. So you'll move your pairings around. You'll look at training camp the same way," said Maurice, who would also like to see Logan Stanley and Sami Niku play with Byfuglien.
"We know (Byfuglien) can play with just about everybody, and they all want to play with him because he gets to play against good players."
Playing on the off side can be a challenge, so Maurice will keep a constant conversation with Myers throughout camp.
"What I want is Tyler feeling really good about himself and his game. That's priority one - a confident hockey player," said Maurice. "We'll look at what's the best thing for the Jets. He's comfortable with it right now, he's excited about it."

ICE CHIPS
Josh Morrissey was not on the ice for day one of training camp, as the restricted free agent continues to work through contract negotiations with the Jets.
General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff gave an update on how those conversations are going.
"We're in constant communication with his representatives. We remain hopeful that the situation gets resolved soon," said Cheveldayoff.
"If you look back, there are certain things written into the CBA and there are processes - free agency, arbitration - they're all set to timelines. When you're dealing with RFAs, sometimes those timelines get extended."